Mobile communication devices have become ubiquitous in modern day society. Countless individuals communicate with one another using mobile communication devices over a wireless network. Moreover, individuals may communicate domestically or internationally, or may even communicate over their networked devices when travelling abroad. The increased complexity and availability of the mobile communication network has led to an increased susceptibility of fraudulent activity. Fraudulent activity is an enormous threat to the telecommunication industry, especially because network operators across the world tend to earn a significant portion of revenue from roaming subscribers.
As an example, fraudsters may perpetrate international revenue sharing fraud. An example of international revenue sharing fraud includes using Subscriber Identity Mobile (“SIM”) boxes to terminate international calls that are routed to local phone numbers in the respective country, thereby bypassing all international interconnect charges. The SIM box is a type of hardware usually equipped with multiple SIM cards. The SIM boxes will use multiple SIM cards and are typically programmed to fraudulently route international calls and connect the call as local traffic. The fraudster may then collect the international interconnect charges.
As an additional example, fraudsters may infiltrate signaling protocols to repurpose information that is available on such signaling protocols. Signaling protocols, such as the Signaling System 7 (“SS7”) protocol, allow various service providers to route communication and services amongst each other, even if the service providers are located in separate countries. These protocols, however, may be vulnerable to security breaches, wherein a fraudster may glean valuable information from the signaling protocol. For example, hackers may be able to locate users anywhere in the world, listen to a user's call, record a user's text, and defraud both the user and the service provider.